Tibetan exiles from around the world met in India on Tuesday to discuss how to respond to dozens of self-immolations by Tibetans and find new ways to garner global support for the Tibetan cause.

More than 400 delegates gathered in the Indian hill town of Dharamsala to attend the second Special General Meeting of Tibetans.

The Dalai Lama, the supreme spiritual leader for Tibetan Buddhists, did not participate in the four-day meeting but will attend a prayer for his long life that will be offered on Friday.

The first meeting in 2008 followed protests in the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, that resulted in a brutal crackdown by the Chinese government.

Tuesday's discussions opened with a portrait of the Dalai Lama being carried in a procession and placed on a ceremonial chair in reverence.

The self-proclaimed Tibetan government-in-exile says 41 Tibetans have died from 51 attempts at self-immolation since March 2009.

It considers them a sign of the suffering Tibetans feel under China's repressive policies.

"The fact that Tibetans after fifty plus years are still protesting and in drastic form of self immolation clearly indicates that they are protesting against the occupation of Tibet and the repressive policies of the Chinese government," the group's political leader, Lobsang Sangay, told delegates.

China claims the Dalai Lama encourages the suicide attempts.

Discussions over the next four days are also expected to discuss how to highlight the religious and cultural repressions Tibetans face.